A pranayama practice has many benefits, including helping you go deeper into meditation. This video is about Nadi Shodhana, or alternate nostril breathing. It is all about balance, and coming off the Autumnal Equinox seemed like a perfect to post this.

In case you don’t know, pranayama is often thought of as “yoga breathing.” Changing the way in which we breath can lead to a change of how we feel. As I said, Nadi Shodhana is about creating and restoring balance. Physically, it regulates the flow of air through the nasal passages, the two sides of your nose, and finds balance through the left and right hemispheres of the brain. Energetically, we find balance through the energetic channels in our body. I also like to think of it helping to balance out the masculine and feminine we all have within ourselves.

Different breathing techniques create different qualities. Nadi Shodhana is very calming and helps to settle the mind and the body. You can do it before meditation to go in deeper. However, if I find myself struggling during a meditation, if I switch to Nadi Shodhana for a few rounds, it helps me bring myself back to center and I feel much better. The anxiety and stress that starts to creep in when I follow thoughts begins to dissipate.

If meditation is not your thing, give this technique a try anyways and see how it makes you feel. For instruction, please watch the tutorial. I show you the position of your right hand that will help you block one side of your nose at a time. The first round we do together with our eyes open so you can see what’s happening, and then I continue to lead you through a minute or two of the practice. Good luck, and let me know how it goes! And of course, leave any questions you have in the comments.